905 – Daleks take Manhattan | Sleeping With Doctor Who

EPISODE 905 – Daleks take Manhattan | Sleeping with Doctor Who S3 E4

 

[START OF RECORDING]

SCOOTER: Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, and friends beyond the binary, it’s time for the podcaster that can fill it…when I get to…I think I’ve said this before; I’d like to…if I pulled up at a full-service station, I’d say fill her up with filler words, Will.  Hopefully that’s your name ‘cause I almost said that.  Patrons, you allow…you’re the ones that keep the tanks full of fuller…full of filler words.  Fuller, fuller, filler, fuller…fooler words, too.  Thanks, patrons.  What do you say we get on with the show?

 

INTRO: [INTRO MUSIC] Hey, are you up all night tossing, turning, mind racing?  Trouble getting to sleep?  Trouble staying asleep?  Well, welcome.  This is Sleep With Me, the podcast that puts you to sleep.  We do it with a bedtime story.  Alls you need to do is get in bed, turn out the lights, and press play.  I’m gonna do the rest.  What I’m going to attempt to do is create a safe place where you could set aside whatever’s keeping you awake.  It could be thoughts you’re thinking about, so things on your mind, thoughts, feelings, so, anything emotional coming up for you from the past, present, or future, physical sensations, changes in time or temperature, routine.  What about R-U-D-E?  I don’t know if I’ve used that…that’s a very hard word to use at the beginning of a sleep podcast, but I just thought of it.  When I mispronounced routine, it almost sounds like rude-tine.  Maybe we’ll come back to that, but if you’ve dealt with any of that today at any point or in the past and you’re…you know, sometimes it can come up.

 

You say well, that was when I was fourteen, but I’m still feeling a little miffed about it.  Then some part of your brain, while you’re trying to fall asleep, paradoxically, would say well, I don’t know if you should be…you say, okay, are you getting miffed at me for being miffed about that, about the…back then?  Yes, I am.  Oh, great.  Whatever’s keeping you awake; could be thoughts, feelings, could be physical sensations.  Whatever you’re experiencing, I’m here to take your mind off of that.  What I’m gonna do is I’m gonna send my voice across the deep, dark night.  I’m gonna use lulling, soothing, creaky, dulcet tones.  Oh, so creaky are my dulcet tones.  Creaky, dulcet tones, pointless meanders.  Definitely, my meanders will be rounded, curved…you say well, it don’t look curved to me, Scoots.  It looks a bit like a knotted rope that hasn’t been…I say well, yeah, creaky, dulcet tones and pointless meanders become…could there be a cacophony of knotted rope?

 

Yeah, knotted and bundled, you got it, but whatever it is that’s keeping you awake, I’d like to distract you from that.  So if you’re new, a couple things to know right up front.  If you’re a regular listener, welcome back.  So glad to have you here.  As you know, this part will be familiar and unexpected at the same time.  But if you’re new, a few things to know; one, for most people that get to this podcast, some people it instantly clicks for.  But for…in the high ninety percentage of people, they get to it, and you could approach this podcast with a little bit of skepticism or doubt or…just unsure.  I don’t know what’s going on here.  That’s very understandable, so I want to let you know that your skepticism or doubt is justified.  As someone that does have trouble sleeping, I’ve dealt with it, too.  You say well, is this…this is really supposed to help me fall asleep?  One, if you’re skeptical or doubtful, you’ll probably remain that way, to be honest.

 

It’s my job to earn your trust but it does take – according to 90% of listeners – two or three tries to get used to this podcast.  I guess I would say that’s asking a lot but the podcast is free, and if you’re already having trouble falling asleep, just give it a few tries.  Try it for three nights.  Sleep With Me; the three-night try.  Give it a try for three nights and then see how it goes.  If it doesn’t work out, it doesn’t work out, right?  That’s one thing; give it a few tries.  The other thing is this is a podcast you barely listen to.  If you’re patiently waiting for the story to start or for me to get to the sleepy stuff, we’re already knee-deep in sleepy stuff and pointless meanders.  I’ll eventually not get very far, so kind of listen a little bit out-of-focus in a relaxed way, and just see how it goes.  But almost don’t pay me any mind as my nana always says, particularly right when I get onstage to start a speech or I start a stream or I start recording.  She says, don’t pay him any mind.  I say, okay.

 

She says well, I’m just trying to help take the pressure off you.  I say nana, could you sit down?  Everyone else is a guest.  I’m trying to…she said, this is just your imagination.  I say oh, thanks for doing that before I go out on stage or before I start the stream, nana, to do that.  She goes, yep.  She goes that way, if you’re already on the ground, you…this is one other famous thing nana said; if you’re already on the ground, there’s nowhere to fall.  I said wow, nana.  She said so, if you’re prone, you can’t…there’s no…I say, huh, prone and alone, and…something else, lessons I learned from my internal nana.  I only learned prone…I mean, I knew what that word meant but it’s more in my usage now because I’ve been learning to be a DM which is a person that runs a roleplaying game, in my personal life.  Oh, I’m sorry, new listener.  Went off…I was saying that you don’t need to listen to me and the show is full of pointless meanders, so I think I got that part pointed out.  Only took me six minutes.

 

That’s one thing; you don’t need to listen to this podcast.  Also, this podcast really isn’t here to put you to sleep.  It’s here to keep you company as you fall asleep.  The good news is, that’s why the shows are about an hour, is to keep you company no matter how long it takes.  If you can’t sleep or you wake up or you need a break during the day, I’m here for you.  I’ll be here to the very end of this episode.  Those are a few other things I wanted to point out to you ‘cause they’re really important to me that you know them.  What else is there?  Oh boy, I already got mixed up.  Yeah, so, I’m here to keep you company as you drift off.  Oh, then the structure of the show also can throw new listeners off naturally.  Our show is very structured but it does look like a ball of knotted rope and…you say, is that rope, yarn, string, and fishing line?  I’d say yep, it is; all together, one big bundle of meanders.  But so, structurally, the show starts out with a greeting.

 

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, and friends beyond the binary, and in this particular episode, trees and Multi-forms.  Then there’s business.  The business is what enables us to bring the podcast to millions of people every month, twice a week.  Then there’s an intro.  The intro is what particularly throws people off ‘cause they think…sometimes people think that the business rolls into the intro, but the intro is really the bulk of the first…it’s the first third of the show.  It’s about twelve to twenty minutes long where I kind of…for new listeners, I try to explain what the podcast is and for regular listeners, it’s their symbol or their sign to start getting ready for bed; starting their skincare routine or their wind-down routine, or their balming routine or their petting routine, or they’re doodling or they’re knitting, stretching, sitting, or just lying in bed and getting comfortable.  The intro provides a chance to provide something familiar but something that’s a little bit different every time, to slowly let you wind down and drift away and get some separation from everything else.

 

That’s the intro.  Then between the intro and the episode is some business.  Then there’ll be the episode.  Tonight, we’ll be talking about Dr. Who but as I said, you’ll be saying Dr. Who?  After you listen, ‘cause it will not be…’cause actually, I’ve heard from people from the 70s or 80s…and I was a kid of the 80s.  I’d say yeah, no, I know that Dr. Who that used to just pop up on TV was not soothing.  This is the new Dr. Who, so that’s one part of it.  The other thing is it really doesn’t…I mean, I’ve covered other stuff too, and it’s very…not like the episode.  I cover the episode but mostly the details or…I can’t stick to the subject matter.  It should be very soothing and relaxing.  If you’re a Dr. Who fan, you say well, I don’t know if I can fall asleep.  I’m so riveted by that episode.  I say well, just wait and see.  Those are a couple things to know.  Then there’s some thank yous at the end.  That’s the structure of the show.  It’s a podcast you don’t need to listen to, and no pressure to pay attention.

 

Try, if you can, not to wait for it to start making sense.  Yeah, structure, we covered that.  Then the other thing is why do I make this podcast?  There’s two reasons I make the show.  One, you [00:10:00] deserve a good night’s sleep.  You deserve a safe place of respite and relaxation.  That’s why I make the show, because you deserve that.  Your world, your life will be in a place where you could slowly start to flourish when you get some rest.  That means our world will be in a better place, when you have the opportunity to grow and flourish.  It just makes everybody’s world a better place.  That’s one reason.  The other reason is I know how it feels.  Especially right now, the uninspection; I remember I used that term maybe a year ago, but the unexpected nature for a lot of us about sleep.  You say well, I’m doing everything I’m supposed to.  That’s me.  I mean, I know how to…I’ve been doing this seven years, so I know about bedtime routines and morning routines.

 

Then sometimes I still…it comes up and I say what in the heck?  I did everything I did last night and it didn’t work.  That’s a mild version of how it feels, right?  It doesn’t feel even like that.  You say, what in the…?  So, I know how it feels.  If I can help anybody at all, if I can help you, it would mean a lot to me because I’ve been there.  Really, alls I really wanted…and this is the biggest…this is the behind-the-scenes or the underpinnings of the show, is my job is really just to be here talking nonstop in a nonsensical way to say hey, it really stinks that you can’t sleep.  I don’t know if there’s anything specific I can do to change that, but I’m familiar with how that feels and I know it’s not pleasant.  Maybe I could just be here to tell you a story and keep you company because that doesn’t seem like…you know?  That’s really my job.  It isn’t to put you to sleep; it’s just to be here for you.  Ideally by doing that you say well, Scoots is here for me, which is the truth.  I’m here for you.  You don’t have to listen to me so you say oh, wait, but I don’t have to listen to Scoots.  He’s not really here.

 

He’s coming across the deep, dark night in…by bits and whatever.  Bits and zeroes or whatever.  He’s not gonna leave any crumbs behind.  I say, did you close both doors?  Did you push the thing?  You didn’t leave any…half-glass of milk out or anything, did you, Scoots?  I say nope, I just came across by the magical RSS feed.  You say, so there’s…I can come to you and I can be there for you, and there’s no pressure on you.  You could set a sleep timer or you could turn me on when you wake up.  Some people listen all night.  The Patreon is a little bit better for all-night listening.  It’s almost just really hard to figure out a way to make a all-night-podcast-only that’s sustainable.  But some people make it work.  I know a lot of people do listen all night.  Some people start a episode and then listen to it over the course of a week.  Whatever…however it works for you over long-term is great.  But I want you to know that my real job is just to be here to keep you company, to be your bore-friend, your bore-bae, your bore-cuz, your bore-sib, your bore-bestie.

 

Just to be a simple presence that says you know what?  That seems like it stinks.  I could talk about some goofy stuff for a little while and get mixed up and tell you about my nana, and then tell you about this Dr. Who episode I watched if that might help.  I don’t know.  But I’ll be here to keep you company.  If you want to fall asleep at any point, don’t worry about it.  I’ll just be here for you.  That really is a job I am honored to do.  That’s why I laughed, ‘cause it sounds ridiculous, but it’s true.  That’s what makes it even more wonderful.  I think that’s it.  I’m glad you’re here, I appreciate you checking the show out.  If this is your first time, like I said, give it a few tries and see how it goes.  If it doesn’t work, I’m sorry.  It just doesn’t work for everybody.  I’m not everybody’s cup of tea.  You could check out sleepwithmepodcast.com/nothankyou but yeah, I appreciate your time.  I work really hard.  I yearn and I strive.  Thanks again for coming by, or thanks for being here night after night.  Here’s a couple ways we’re able to bring you this podcast for free, twice a week.

 

Alright everybody, we’re talking about season series three, Episode 4, Daleks in Manhattan.  Reminds me of the thing Muppets Take Manhattan.  I just watched, in the opening sequence, something I missed.  So, there’s a black and white scene of New York.  Then it shows the…Lorenzini presents the New York Review.  There’s some bills or some posters that show Tallulah.  Then there’s a moving shot down the hallway.  What I missed the first time was someone’s on the phone that’s pretty funny, so if you’re re-watching this…somebody that not everybody…I say wait a second, is that…did I see you on the wall of Eleanor’s home?  Let me see what our breakdown is here.  I said, is this the roaring twenties?  No, Scoots.  It’s the 1930s.  No, maybe it is the roaring twenties.  New York Review, the Lorentis, Tallulah.  Then we see the C to the L to the O to the W to the N again, then we see Laszlo and Tallulah.  They’re in love; sweethearts.  There’s a little kissy-poo.

 

When am I taking you home to see my mom?  White rose, looks like an angel, kissy-kissy-poo.  Oh, I love you.  Oh, I love you too, honey-poo, sweetie-poo.  Tallulah’s dressed as an angel.  She’s getting ready to go on a stage show.  Even though this is a different time period, he looks a little bit like…oh boy, now I forgot.  Oh, one of the Jonas Brothers.  A little bit like a Jonas Brother, maybe.  But I’m not a Jonas Brother expert.  But even though this is ten years ago, maybe.  I said, he always looks familiar.  You want to talk about familiarity in this show, holy Mark, do we have something coming up.  White rose, looks like an angel…it says, ‘good luck on stage.’  Then Tallulah goes up on stage and Laszlo…that’s his name, right?  Laszlo, he’s by himself.  He hears somebody jogging.  Somebody’s jogging the hallways, or pacing.  Or maybe he hears both.  He says, is someone jogging or is someone pacing?  Then he realized wait, someone’s pacing and someone’s jogging.

 

It’s a bit like Scoot’s apartment.  He starts to look around and remember, there was a famous TV show called Seinfeld.  I’m part of the Seinfeld generation, I guess you’d call it.  There’s a famous episode of Seinfeld…or maybe it’s a series of episodes, where Kramer makes a friend.  There’s also a famous book that I never read.  Maybe we were assigned to read it and I never read it.  It’s by, I think, somebody…and I…again, I’m not sure if it’s Paul Zindel…is the name that pops in my head.  I didn’t read the book and actually, I have no idea anything about the book except for the cover.  It’s very similar to the Seinfeld episode where it’s a person who…a poor kind…like Porky Pig.  Both the book and the Seinfeld episode are about fans of Porky Pig, which again is something I guess I have to explain ‘cause it’s a dated reference itself.  Once upon a time, there was the Warner Brothers cartoons versus the Disney cartoons.

 

I don’t know if this is even true, but you had Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, and a couple other characters who were the primary characters.  Then you had secondary characters like Porky Pig or Pluto and Goofy.  Now, Porky Pig was not exactly like Goofy, but he was a sillier character.  These are people doing Porky Pig cosplay, but one person’s pacing and the other one’s jogging.  Neither one of which Porky Pig did…so, they’re doing their own interpretations of it.  Meanwhile, Laszlo says…obviously, just like you; what in the hey is going on here?  He says, isn’t there other places…this is a show…place…this is a theatre and there’s a show going on.  Isn’t there someplace else you could pace and jog?  They said yeah, actually, we’re going down below actually, to below-level where the steam’s coming from.  Laszlo says okay, well, get going ‘cause I got my girl onstage.  They say hey, it’s Laszlo.  What do you think about joining us?  Laszlo says, I don’t know.

 

They say, it’s a really good life as a Porky Pig cosplayer.  He says, huh.  They say, come along.  Laszlo goes along.  Also, at first it sounded like snoring.  There’s a little surprisey-poo, so it doesn’t play out that simply, obviously.  Laszlo…he looks for the jogger and the pacer, eventually finds them.  Then the [00:20:00] episode eventually opens with the Daleks Take Manhattan, or in Manhattan.  Not like Muppets Take Manhattan by Helen Rayner, which the last name Rayner reminds me of the game StarCraft.  Yeah, we get a Helen Rayner episode.  I think that’s my first page of notes.  That covers it.  Next up we have a Statue of Liberty base.  Just the base of it to start.  Old Lady Liberty.  Then the TARDIS…Doctor says oh boy, I love a nice, cold Atlantic breeze.  He says Martha, meet Lady Liberty.  She says, what in the heck?  He says yep, give me your tired, your poor, and your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.  Martha goes jeez, New York again, eh?

 

Always wanted to actually go to the real New York, not the New New New New one.  He goes this is it, so nice they named it twice.  Well, actually, it’s called…there’s a joke…New Amsterdam, which is harder to say twice.  New Amsterdam New Amsterdam.  That’s a bit like a Sleep With Me joke in there.  Then she says, what year is it?  The Empire State Building’s not done.  The Doctor’s trying to remember his history but Martha picks up a newspaper.  It says 1930.  November 1st, buddy.  Newsreels, is that what that says?  I don’t know what that says.  She has a newspaper, though.  Oh yeah, Martha says oh yeah, you would…we would have seen this in newsreels in black and white ‘cause…but it looks so different.  Then there’s a mystery about…the Hooverville Mystery on the cover of the newspaper, so they go the Hooverville.  They introduce Hooverville and 1929, like a lot of the challenges going on after the roaring twenties.  Boom to not boom.

 

Huddled masses doubling in number in Central Park, and that’s where Hooverville is, in the middle of the city.  Again, we see the positive, subversive nature of Dr. Who.  This is going on.  The Doctor sets up every…all the circumstances that led to Hooverville and…jeez, is this even okay?  Then we see some stuff unfold in Hooverville, people not having an easy time of it.  We meet Solomon who is the leader of Hooverville, and the caring authority figure, I would say.  He says jeez, come on, we’re trying to get through this together.  He goes, we…human beings, dignity and kindness and acting together.  They say, oh boy.  Let’s see, what else do we have?  Oh, we passed a barber pole, Broadway, and something…street signs.  They’re stuck together.  Then the Doctor…they introduce themselves.  Is that what happens next?  Oh yeah, the Doctor and Martha introduce themselves to Solomon.  They say, how are you doing?  You in charge?  He goes, yeah.  He goes, who are you?  Doctor and Martha.

 

He goes, you’re the first doctor to live in Hooverville.  They kind of talk about it.  Solomon whacks his…he says look at this, you’re building a building but you got Hooverville.  It’s not cool.  Then we cut to the Empire State Building which they’re working on it.  What does that say?  Foster, tell them yourself.  So, a foreman says, you know what?  I’m not comfortable with this working.  Our workers are flat-out, man, and you want us to work faster?  There’s this dude who’s kind of playing…I don’t know what you would call it but he’s got a pinstriped suit on.  He says, we gotta go faster.  The foreman says, we can’t go any faster.  We’re on a schedule.  Another month, we’ll be done.  He goes no, no, it’s gotta be done tonight.  The foreman says, no.  The pinstripe guys says no, yeah, you gotta get it done.  The foreman goes, I’ll just shut down the…he goes well, you gotta talk to the people in charge.  I don’t like your attitude.  The foreman goes well, I don’t care.  Send the suits in, whatever.

 

Same boss as the old boss, just like The Who sings.  He says, who are the bosses, anyway?  He goes well, they’re from out of town.  The foreman says well, from where?  He goes, beyond your imagination.  He goes, what do you mean?  Who are we working for?  Then the door opens and then a Dalek comes out.  He goes, what in the heck?  The Dalek is…always funny, the Daleks.  It says, I have been summoned…explain, explain.  The foreman’s mind is blown, obviously; 1929 or whatever, and he sees a Dalek.  Then the pinstripe is a collaborator.  He says, this guy won’t do the work.  Then the Dalek says okay, well, we’ll bring him down to do Porky Pig cosplay, then.  Take him with us.  You’re gonna do…you can’t work on the tower anymore.  Then he says by the way, pinstripe, get this done.  He says don’t worry, I will.  You say, wait a second, what’s…we say, Daleks in Manhattan?  There’s music…who are we working for?  Big music after he says that.

 

Bluive the Dalek matches up with the door of the elevator…explain, explain what…he comes with a couple Porky Pigs.  Then we go back to Hooverville and the Doctor says, what’s up with this newspaper mystery, dude…Solomon?  He says come on in, come on into my tent here and we’ll talk.  Doctor goes, people must be moving in and out of here all the time, right?  He goes yeah, but this is different because…he goes, they leave their stuff.  No one leaves their stuff behind.  If you’re moving on, you pack up.  He goes, it’s like they went to work and they stayed at work.  They go well, who’s looking into it?  They go, nobody.  The Doctor goes well, not anymore.  Martha and I are on the case.  Well, first they go, somebody’s here…that pinstripe dude’s making a speech, and you know who says that?  You say, what in the Mark?  What in the person that says ‘Mark’ in my favorite way and was once an amazing person of…a slinger of webs?  You say, is that Andrew Garfield?  It is.

 

That was a pleasant surprise.  I was literally…I said, wait a second; Mark?  Did you just say Mark?  I don’t know why I loved when he said ‘Mark’ in that movie.  I just loved his character in that…in The Social Network.  Whatever.  So, what happens?  He says, the pinstriped suit’s giving a speech.  So, they go to see the pinstriped suit’s speech.  That guy is saying hey, who wants to…first he asks for volunteers, but he says well, not volunteers; very low-paid work, down…down…you know, downtown, way downtown.  I gotta do some fixing.  They say, how much?  He says, very low.  Then they say well, that’s not nice.  They say, what other guarantees…?  The pinstriped suit says, no guarantees.  No questions, either.  Then the Doctor raises his hand.  He’s like, no questions, I said.  The Doctor goes no, I’ll go.  I’m volunteering.  Martha?  Martha goes, great.  Thanks a lot, Doctor.  They go, anybody else?  Then Solomon and Frank, Andrew Garfield, says okay, I’ll come, too.

 

But I think Andrew Garfield understandably says hey, Martha, are you…he’s…but I say, holy Facebook.  They say okay, go clean downtown.  I’ll go.  Then they go down and they go okay, 273.  I gotta go down and then go down to the right, and that’s what you gotta clean up.  Then I’ll pay you when you get back.  They go, that’s the oldest trick in the book.  He goes, so, get to work.  The pinstriped suit and…the Doctor and him have a stare-down which was great.  Then they go down and Frank, Andrew Garfield, says okay, let’s stick together.  Martha says Frank, where are you from?  He goes Tennessee, born and bred.  She goes, what are you doing down here?  He goes well, that’s just the way it is right now.  He goes, I’m the oldest of six kids.  I had to go out on my own.  He goes, I’m kind of a rambler.  Martha goes, I’m on a ramble a little bit, too, with this clown.  Frank goes, stick with me.  Then the Doctor asks Solomon, who’s this dude in the pinstriped suit?  He goes, I don’t know.

 

He just showed up as a foreman.  Now he’s running all of Manhattan.  [00:30:00] Doctor goes well, that’s weird.  He goes yeah, strange times.  Up and down for everybody.  Let’s see, Solomon looks around…runs Manhattan…and then they see this weirdest thing; it’s like this green…a bowl of green Jell-O but it’s like, it’s a Jell-O jig…it’s jiggling on its own.  They go, what is that?  The Doctor goes, that’s glowing green Jell-O jiggling.  He says by the way, we’re past a half-mile.  I thought that’s as far as we had to go to clean up.  He goes, this is manufactured.  Why is there a bowl of glowing green Jell-O jigglers that are jiggling, and how are they jiggling?  How are they glowing?  Then we go back to the Empire State Building.  There’s the plans for the mast; 1,470 feet, like a spire.  We gotta put these plates on it with these bubbles and they gotta go on tonight.  Then again, the person says we’re flat-out, man.  Can’t do it.  Then the pinstriped says, you gotta do it.  You don’t have a choice.

 

They say, we’re not going.  He goes, I don’t care.  You’re doing it.  Put this stuff up.  Get it done by midnight and don’t get the…don’t get a, whatever…don’t get it wet and don’t feed it after midnight, but get to work.  They say oh, whatever.  Get to work…familiar job or something?  I don’t know.  Then a Dalek…oh yeah, get up there and finish the job.  Then a Dalek comes in and goes, gotta get those plates done.  The Dalek says something like that and he goes okay…the pinstripe says, it’ll get done.  Don’t worry.  This cracked me up.  It goes, Daleks have no concept of worry.  He goes, really?  That’s so interesting.  The pinstriper goes, that must be nice.  But then the Dalek goes and looks out at the skyline and has his moment.  Again…a great moment.  It says, the day is ending.  Humans are not great.  You love comics too much and you waste your time reading comic books, yet you’ve built all of this.  The pinstriped suit says yeah, all work and no play.  Gotta read comic books.

 

Is that what this is about, this whole thing?  He goes, you gotta move with the times or get left behind.  The Dalek is forlorn.  It goes, my planet’s gone, Time Lord stuff, yet versions of this city stand throughout history, and always got humans in it.  The pinstriped suit says, do you know who Gloria Gaynor is?  ‘Cause she had a song about this.  The Dalek goes, you have rare ambition.  He goes, I wanna run this town.  That’s another song that I’d like to sing.  The Dalek says, you think like a Dalek.  He goes, darn tootin’ I do.  Then they go downstairs, or we go downstairs for this big Dalek meeting.  They got this laboratory down there with Bunsen burners and those Tesla coils, the whole nine yards.  ‘Cause the Dalek says, we gotta go downstairs for a meeting.  Oh first, they go in the elevator though, and we see there’s cool special effects that make the elevator.  Then the meeting downstairs of just the Daleks…oh, these are happening at the same time, I guess.

 

We get a close-up…a really cool shot of a 3D-level Dalek eye nodding when it talks, ‘cause it says bring the person downstairs.  Oh, and then they show up downstairs.  What else do they say?  Oh yeah, get ready.  That’s what they say downstairs.  Then they say…they go on the elevator, there’s special effects.  He says, where are we going?  Talk to the boss Dalek.  Okay.  Then they go and they say…the dude puts on gloves which was weird.  I didn’t understand that, but maybe it’s just a flourish as a actor?  I don’t know.  But then he says, who’s in charge of the pinstriped suit?  He goes I am, Dalek Sec, leader of the C-U-L-T of Skaro.  He goes, great honor to meet you, man.  Thanks for transmitting those thoughts in my head about…then the Dalek says, cease talking.  Then he goes well, I just wanted to give you a gratitude lesson.  The Dalek Sec says, cease talking.  Then he goes, Porky Pigs…then he goes, don’t worry about that.  I’m with you.  I’m your partner.

 

Yeah, he said why did that guy put…’cause I’m like, why does that guy have gloves on?  Oh, also, all of the Daleks have a dongle symbol on them.  I probably noticed it before but I said, do they need a USBC to USB…and then we go back to the Doctor, Solomon, Martha, and Frank looking around downtown.  They go, what the heck?  We didn’t find anything down here.  Then they say wait a second, is that someone sitting down over there?  The Doctor goes Solomon, you take those two back.  I’ll look around here on my own, ‘cause he was snoring, I think.  They go, somebody’s snoring.  Or are they saying, ribbety-ribbety-ribbety?  ‘Cause Porky Pig has a stutter a little bit like fumbling over my words, like I do.  The Doctor says, let me go look into this.  This could be somebody that’s been walking around downtown, working, too.  They say okay, well, huh.  Doctor goes, I’ll look into it.  Then they find somebody.  The Doctor goes hey, are you…what are you looking for?

 

Everybody’s talking to him at once.  Doctor goes, I’ll do it.  He goes, that’s Frank, Martha back there.  Who are you?  Then he goes, is that…he goes, are you a cartoon pig?  They go, is that…no, the person’s dressed up as a cartoon pig, Doctor.  The Doctor goes, I don’t know.  I think this thing became a cartoon pig.  He goes, look at this, this is animated but it’s real.  They go, how is this even possible?  Then all of a sudden, all these other Porky Pigs come out.  They realize wait, this isn’t cosplay; this is some sort of human animation.  The Doctor goes okay, maybe we should get moving.  Doctor goes, R to the U to the N.  They start running down, then they go up a ladder, they find a ladder.  Doctor opens it with his screwdriver.  Frank stays behind.  He says wait a second, I want to touch…I’ve watched it on the big screen.  I want to touch it.  They go Frank, come on.  Then they all go up, Frank touches the…he says oh, maybe I want to do this.

 

I’ll stay down here and hang with these animated figures, not like the Doctor who says that’s not a good idea.  Also, he said Mark?  You down?  Mark, are you…can we search these, Mark, the wigavosses in here?  Then the Doctor closes the door.  Then they’re inside the theatre and Tallulah’s there.  She’s sad; she says…Solomon’s sad ‘cause he said, Frank stayed behind with those animated figures?  Then Tallulah’s there.  She goes, where’s Laszlo?  They go, Laszlo who?  Then they end up in her dressing room.  She says…let’s see, she goes, my boyfriend Laszlo.  He’s not around.  He didn’t leave me a letter or anything.  She goes, I know some people do that but not Laszlo.  She goes, who asked you to go see his mom before his vamooses?  They go, what do you think happened?  She goes, I don’t know.  They go, what’s your name?  She goes, Tallulah.  The Doctor goes, Tallulah.  She goes, three l’s and an h.  He goes, well, it’s not just Laszlo.

 

Then Solomon goes, you know there’s animated figures down there?  She goes, animated figures?  The Doctor goes, I gotta get back to this bowl of Jell-O because it’s jiggling on its own.  They’re like, what in the Sam hey, again, is this?  You’re gonna look into this Jell-O.  They’re not on the Doctor’s level, obviously, lucky to say.  Jell-O?  You need to look into Jell-O?  The Doctor goes, mellow yellow or Jell-O?  They call it both sometimes.  Then they’re backstage.  The Doctor’s at work getting parts to analyze the Jell-O from stage lights.  Solomon brings him a radio.  He goes okay, yeah, let me take that apart.  I’m gonna scan this Jell-O jiggler and get some…I’m gonna check it for chlorophyll, or how it’s glowing.  Solomon goes Doctor, where are you from?  I’ve been everywhere and I never heard anybody talk about you.  Who are you?  The Doctor goes, just passing by.  The guy goes, give me a break.  Solomon says that.  I’m smart.  The Doctor goes, sorry.

 

[00:40:00] Then Solomon gets real; he goes jeez, I was really worried about Frank.  Kinda froze.  I shouldn’t have let Frank go be those with animated beings.  He goes, we’re on our own, aren’t we, Doctor?  The Doctor goes, yeah.  He goes, okay, I’m gonna go help other people.  The Doctor goes, good luck.  Solomon goes, I hope you find what you’re looking for…get to the bottom of this Jell-O, but not literally.  Just figuratively, for all our sakes.  The Doctor goes, no problem.  Then we see…we go back…oh, let’s see, Frank…then we go back to…oh, he goes back to Hooverville; good luck.  Tallulah and Martha are talking as she’s getting ready for her show.  Martha goes, tell me more about this Laszlo.  She goes well, he’d wait, walk me home, leave a flower for me, just a single rosebud.  He was a stagehand and no one else cared about him like I did.  Martha goes, why don’t you quit the show?  She goes, no.  She goes, you’re a star.  Tallulah goes, you don’t get it.

 

She goes, I got one song and a backstreet review and that’s just because Heidi dropped out.  She goes, it’s tough around here, Martha, tougher than it looks.  She goes, okay.  She goes, the show must go on ‘cause…and you gotta…and she goes…Martha goes, wow, I didn’t realize…yeah, the…and Tallulah, again, goes yeah, you gotta get moving.  She goes, you got a hot potato in a suit there, Martha.  Martha goes, no.  Tallulah goes, yeah, I can see what…how you look at him.  Martha goes, I don’t know, I don’t know if he’s into me.  Then Tallulah goes oh, by the way, I keep getting these roses from somebody.  Martha goes, Laszlo?  She goes well, I don’t know.  Why is he sneaking around and not saying hi?  Then we see Hooverville in the rain.  Frank’s like, we’re not gonna take this animated…he goes, we gotta do something about this, for Frankie.  He goes, and for everybody that’s in this situation.  Then it cuts back to the Empire State Building.  They’re on the top, working.

 

They’re trying to put these panels on and at some point, you realize the panels look pretty familiar, the bubbles or the raised half-circles or half-spheres that they’re putting on there.  You say wait a second, are those part of the Dalek dress?  They say okay, we’re almost done, and it’s storming.  Then we go down to the lab below.  They say okay, alright, we’re almost ready.  Alright, the Dalek Sec says let’s get moving.  They say, preparations for what?  They go, the final countdown.  He goes, what do you mean?  The Final Countdown like the song from the future?  He goes, or more Porky Pig cosplay?  ‘Cause I’m not into that.  They go, it’s not cosplay.  Those are animated beings now.  This is bigger.  We were only allowed to read Porky Pig comics because of a new rule we came up with.  But we wanted to get rid of all comics.  The guy says, I don’t understand what you’re talking about.  They go yeah, well, these people, we have them…we make them become comics based on this one comic we read.

 

Then we’re gonna destroy all the comics on your planet.  That’s why we’re here.  He goes okay, well, as long as I get power.  Pinstripe, he goes, I don’t care.  They go well, that’s not quite what we’re gonna do.  They go, Daleks are supreme.  You human beings are weak.  But they kind of go back and forth.  Even the Daleks, I think they’re going back and forth ‘cause Dalek Sec says, these humans are very good at adapting.  Maybe comics have something to do with it.  I think I should read some more comics.  They go, how?  He goes, I’m gonna download all the comics this pinstriped suit ever wore.  Cult of Skaro has a purpose and we have to imagine going on.  Thay says no, and then Sec says yeah, we gotta do it.  We’ve all given up something and now we gotta go for the greater cause.  I gotta read comics for the greater cause.  Meanwhile, pinstripe says, what do you mean?  Dalek Sec says, I’m gonna open up my doors and you’re gonna see the organic version of a Dalek.  He goes, I prefer not to.

 

They go yeah, ‘cause we need to get your comics that you’ve read, all your comic memories.  Come in and join me.  He joins up so they…it can kind of use its psychic power to absorb his comic books.  That all happens which is interesting.  They say okay, wait a second, so, what is Dalek Sec really up to?  Or is Dalek Se gonna…or Thay…I thought Daleks would…they’ve read Porky Pig comics?  I didn’t even know there were any, but now this other Dalek’s gonna read a bunch of other ones.  Then we go back…let’s see.  Oh, there was also dance music.  Did I put a time here?  Oh, 41:00 in the background, there’s a lot of dance music going on which really stuck out to me.  I said, that’s dance music in the background.  It was just weird.  It’s not from the show ‘cause it’s modern industrial-type dance music.  Then we go back.  We go to a commercial, then we come back and the Doctor’s looking into the…he’s still trying to figure out the…what do you call it?  He’s trying to use his screwdriver to warm up the Jell-O.

 

He’s got his glasses on and everything.  Then Tallulah says, it’s showtime.  It’s opening night.  They say, okay.  Everybody’s getting ready to get onstage.  We see back and forth…she goes come on Martha, you want to watch the show?  She goes, you’ve been onstage before?  She goes, Shakespeare.  She goes, oh, boring.  Come see a real show.  Then the Doctor is…he’s kind of like…he’s, meanwhile, investigating the Jell-O while the show’s going on.  The Doctor goes, this is genetically…something Jell-O.  Oh, clever.  Then we go up and the curtains go up on the show.  Tallulah’s singing; you lured me with your grey eyes, your simple smile.  One and one and one is three.  She goes, you put the frowny face in me.  Then Martha’s watching, then across…she sees a Porky Pig and she goes…she tries to sneak up on it.  Then she ends up being clumsy and knocking over everybody onstage.  She steps on a tail of one of the actresses and knocks her down.  Tallulah says, what are you doing?

 

Meanwhile, the Doctor says wait a second, okay, this is 467-989.  That’s the origins of this Jell-O jiggler.  He goes, where’s that from?  Okay, 987, 98…kind of like an area code for Jell-O jigglers.  There’s also…oh, wait, this isn’t…yeah, and then he goes wait a second, 98…whoa, that’s Skaro.  Oh, my goodness.  Meanwhile, Martha’s like, everybody off the stage.  There’s an animated figure over there.  Tallulah’s like, you get off the stage.  You’re ruining the show.  Then Martha chases after the animated figure, who runs.  She goes wait a second, wait a second, there’s something different about you.  Then it goes away.  Then Marna’s like, what was that?  Then someone else is like, I don’t know.  Then the Doctor goes, where’s Martha?  Tallulah goes, I don’t know; she ran off after a animated figure.  Then Martha yells, I’ve run into some other Porky Pigs.  The Doctor runs after her.  Tallulah runs with Doctor.  Doctor’s gonna go down…downtown.  Tallulah’s like, I’m going with you.

 

She puts on her coat and the Doctor goes no, no, I’m putting on my coat and going by myself.  He puts on his duster.  That’s when the big music is happening.  The Doctor gets ready to go down.  Tallulah’s like, no, no, I’m going with you.  I gotta figure out what’s going on, or Laszlo, too.  She goes plus, Martha and I got friendly, kind of, so I care.  The Doctor goes, Tallulah?  She goes, this is not…you don’t get…and they go down.  Meanwhile, Martha’s with a bunch of animated figures, then she kinda…they say, wait here.  She sees Frank.  [00:50:00] She goes, oh boy, Frank.  Frank goes, where do you think we’re going?  She goes, I don’t know.  We’ll figure it out.  Then Tallulah’s like…they’re downtown, Tallulah and the Doctor.  She goes, where are we going?  What are we doing?  Who are you?  Doctor goes, quiet please.  She goes okay, okay.  The Doctor goes no, no; quiet, quiet, quiet.  Then a couple Daleks slowly buzz by on patrol.  The Doctor goes, no, no, no.  Daleks?

 

How do the Daleks keep going like Lori Gainer does?  He goes, I’m the last of the Time Lords and they got everything.  Tallulah goes, what is that trashcan?  He goes, it’s not a trashcan.  It’s a Dalek and it’s living.  She goes, nah.  The Doctor says, do I look like I’m kidding?  Yeah, no.  He goes, inside that trashcan is a being and they loathe comic books.  Tallulah says wait a second, is it from outer space or something?  Yeah, no, no.  What is it doing in New York?  Then we cut back to the Dalek laboratory and there’s steam coming out of the ears of the Dalek reading the comic books psychically.  They go oh, no, it’s comic…you got comic overwhelm; steam’s coming out your ears.  Dalek Sec says no, I’m gonna keep reading.  Give me some water.  I’m evolving from my comic book consumption, evolving, evolving.  They say, what in the heck?  What did this pinstriped suit-wearing person…what kind of comics did they used to read?  ‘Cause why would smoke come out your ears?

 

Then we go to commercial.  Doctor and Tallulah, they find…Doctor finds somebody.  We know it’s Laszlo right away.  Tallulah doesn’t.  But first, the Doctor says Tallulah, hit the road.  She goes no, no.  Then the Doctor finds Laszlo, the animated Laszlo.  The Doctor says, where’s Martha?  Where is she?  He goes, I don’t know.  Doctor goes, do you know who you are?  Laszlo goes, I feel like the Phantom of the Opera inside my mind.  Tallulah goes, don’t you know where Martha is?  He goes, no, no, I’m the Phantom of the Opera inside my mind.  The Doctor goes well, how did that happen?  He goes, the Phantom of the Opera?  He goes no, specifically.  He goes, the Daleks.  He goes, they have…they read…the only comic they were ever allowed to read so that they would dislike comics was about some animated pig, Porky.  We were supposed to go out in New York and take all the comics and get rid of them eventually, I think.  But something else is going on with the Empire State Building.

 

That’s all I know.  Doctor goes, where’s Martha?  He goes well, she was following me, so she got caught.  Then Tallulah…they have their Phantom of the Opera…she goes, what were you doing in a theatre?  He goes, I wasn’t there.  Well, I was.  She goes, why?  He goes, I don’t…he sings those songs; Hold Me, Touch Me, whatever.  Don’t take my mask off.  I’m the Phantom of the Opera, not anything to worry about.  Just a musical character.  She goes yeah, but you look like Porky Pig.  He goes well, I’m just…she goes, who are you?  He goes well, I just wanted to see you.  I was lonely.  She goes, who are you?  He goes well, I needed to see you and leave you a rose.  She goes, who are you?  He goes, oh, wait.  She goes, Laszlo?  My Laszlo?  Oh, boy.  He goes sorry, sorry.  Then the Doctor goes okay, well, hold on with this moment.  You gotta show me where Martha is.  He goes, you can’t deal with them, Doctor.  He goes don’t worry, I’m the Doctor.  He goes okay, let’s go this way.

 

Then we cut back to Martha and Frank who are waiting around and they’re getting bossed around by the Daleks.  They’re telling to be silenced, form a line.  Martha’s trying to be like, everybody stay calm and just follow them.  They go, the female’s wise.  Another Dalek…say, these are good.  These are gonna be good for everything.  They go okay, well, the energy conductor’s ready.  They go okay, let’s start scanning everybody to see whether they’re…which comic book character they’re gonna end up as, if you…unknown comic book character or Porky.  The first person, they go okay, you’re Porky Pig.  The person goes no, I’m not.  He goes, yep.  Next.  Then they go no, please, I’d rather not be…I’d rather stay…I’d rather not become a animated figure.  Then Laszlo’s with the Doctor.  He goes, see?  There’s two groups; Porkys and then future other people.  He goes, I ended up as a Porky.  Tallulah goes, that’s not nice.  The Doctor goes, please be quiet.  Tallulah goes, you’re the best guy ever.

 

The Doctor goes, where did they go?  He goes, the lab.  Why?  Laszlo goes, I don’t know, some comic book something.  Then they go to Frank.  Meanwhile, the Daleks, they go oh, whoa, you’re not a Porky.  He goes yeah, that’s right, I’m a lead.  Then they go to Martha.  They go oh boy, you’re a lead, too.  She goes, you can’t just do this.  This isn’t human.  They go, we’re not human.  They go, come with us.  You’re of higher comic book standards, leads.  Then the Doctor goes, they’re moving.  Laszlo goes, you gotta follow them quick.  They’re coming that way.  They go, we gotta get outta here.  The Doctor goes no, no, no, I’m gonna follow them.  You go.  Then Tallulah goes Laszlo, come on.  Laszlo says, can you get outta here, Tallulah?  She goes, yeah.  He goes, just go; I’m gonna have to help the Doctor.  I’m an animated figure now.  She goes, okay.  He goes, remember, I’ll always be here inside my mind.  She goes, okay.  Then the Doctor slips in with Martha and he goes, just keep walking.

 

She goes oh, good…thank goodness.  He goes yeah, you can kiss me later.  He goes, you too, Frank.  Frank laughs at that and says well, I’d like to kiss Martha.  The Doctor goes, that’s not gonna happen in a million years, Frank.  Then they’re all in a line and they go into the lab.  They go, report.  Then they go…but somebody says, what is the status?  That was my favorite part; status.  They say okay, Dalek Sec is still smoking or steaming.  They go, well, scan him.  Get ready.  The Doctor goes, evolution?  What’s going on?  Martha goes, what’s going on?  Doctor goes, ask about it.  She goes, what?  He goes yeah, I can’t ask because I’m the Doctor.  She goes okay, I demand to be told what is going on.  They go, you’re gonna bear witness.  She goes, bear witness to what?  Dalek One goes, the dawning of the age of Aquarius, or something else.  She goes, what do you mean?  They go, there was only four Daleks left, so we gotta evolve.  The children of Skaro must walk again.  This is all very dramatic.

 

Sec stops steaming and turns off his lights.  Then his doors open up and out of it comes a…someone that could only be called Squidworth from that…from SpongeBob SquarePants, I think.  Martha goes, is that Squidworth?  But it’s in a pinstriped suit with saddle shoes.  They go, Squidworth from…well, that…they go, well, that must have been…somehow, the guy in the pinstriped suit, that was the only comic books he read.  Then the Dalek Sec says I’m human, Dalek, comic, animated.  I am the future.  We realize that it’s a two-part episode.  We probably realized that a little while ago.  It says, everybody get in a pineapple under the sea and say, SpongeBob SquarePants.  Then get comfortable and curled up, and snuggle in.  It’ll all be very nice.  You say okay, well, I’m gonna puff my pillow up here and think about all the other…all my other favorite character…they said Scoots, isn’t Squidworth the lobster-person?  I said well, I would assume Squid…I don’t know ‘cause I don’t…I haven’t watched it in a while, [01:00:00] so I’ll just say goodnight.

[END OF RECORDING]

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